Proposing an amendment to the Constitution to provide for a balanced budget for the United States Government and for greater accountability in the enactment of tax and spending legislation.
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Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress and the President, prior to each fiscal year, to agree on an estimate of total receipts (except those derived from borrowing) for that fiscal year by enactment of a joint single subject resolution. Prohibits outlays for that year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding this amount unless the Congress, by a three-fifths rollcall vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts.
Requires a three-fifths rollcall vote of each House to increase the public debt.
Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress.
Requires the amount by which outlays exceed receipts to be eliminated or reduced by equal amounts of outlay reductions and revenue increases, to be approved by a majority of each House by rollcall vote. Requires any elimination by unequal amounts of outlay reductions and revenue increases to be approved by three-fifths rollcall vote of each House. Requires amounts by which receipts exceed outlays to be used for reducing the public debt.
Prohibits total receipts for any fiscal year from increasing by a rate greater than the rate of increase in the gross national product in the second prior fiscal year, unless approved by a three-fifths rollcall of each House.
Waives these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect.
Makes this Act effective beginning with FY 1997 or with the second fiscal year beginning after its ratification.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic and Commercial Law.
- Introduced in House Formatted Text
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.J. Res. 386: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution to provide for a balanced budget for the United States Government and for greater accountability in the enactment of tax and spending legislation.. 102nd Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/102-HJRES-386/
"H.J. Res. 386: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution to provide for a balanced budget for the United States Government and for greater accountability in the enactment of tax and spending legislation.." 102nd Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/102-HJRES-386/.
H.J. Res. 386, 102nd Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/102-HJRES-386/.
[H.J. Res. 386: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution to provide for a balanced budget for the United States Government and for greater accountability in the enactment of tax and spending legislation.](https://openamerica.io/bill/102-HJRES-386/)